Archives

I was caught off guard over the weekend when Scotland beat Georgia, which they really should have anyway, despite not playing terribly well. The three points are always welcome whether or not they were gained stylishly.

Well, it was perhaps inevitable that Scotland would run out of luck against more talented teams, with Italy beating them 2 – 0 in Bari yesterday. By all accounts, the Scots didn’t embarrass themselves, but that doesn’t change the fact that they missed chances to score, and paid heavily for a couple of defensive lapses. Evidently keeper Craig Gordon made some excellent saves to keep the score respectable, which is good to know, and the midfield and forward players were able to make headway to the Italian defense. Not a total disaster, at any rate.

Ukraine beat Lithuania to join Scotland and France in a three-way tie for lead of Group B on 12 points. If Scotland want to qualify, they need to beat the Faroe Isles away in June (easier said than done, if the past is any guide), and then get at least a win and a draw out of playing Lithuania at home and France away in September.

2 Responses

I find that having an occasional beer helps, as well as walking in what I am told is called the “outdoors.” It appears that the small people who have been pestering me for months are in fact my children, so I shall speak to them also.